Chapter 13: The Worst of Times
Gen
"Gen! It's almost time for school!"
I hopped out of bed, and got dressed. Same old bed, same old dresser, same old bookshelf.
It was so good to be home at last.
I made my way down the hallway to the kitchen, and everything was just as I remembered it. Were the past two days just a bad dream? Wonder what school would be like today. Hopefully the Game Corner wouldn't be too rowdy when I clocked in.
… I think I'll make myself some pancakes for breakfast today. I think I have time.
As I walked to the kitchen, I saw a familiar Chikorita and Charmander lounging in the living room on the couch, watching a movie sitting alongside my brother. I smiled, and waved at them. I was so happy to be friends with them both.
"Hello, Gen!" Burhalla said, waving back at me. My mother's Flaafy baaed, curled up next to the couch. She'd been a part of my family for as long as I could remember. It was nice to finally see her again.
"Gen…"
I entered the kitchen, and looked up at the stove. It was an older model, with the same drab, yet polished finish it had. But something was different about it this time. It was so high up...it would be difficult to turn it on. The stovetop must've been a full three times my height off the ground, who on earth built it like that?
Wait a minute… why was I so small to begin with?
I looked down at myself, only to see tiny white arms, blue fur, and a scalchop on my chest. What?! What was going on?! What was wrong with my body?! Why was I still an Oshawott?!
"Come on, Gen!"
Around me, streaks of rainbow cut through the house, the stove, cabinets, floor, and walls dissolving away into a mesmerizing, colorful void. I screamed as the floor tiles below me disappeared.
"Gen, hurry up and save the world already!"
A giant, pink and black hand reached out for me. It grabbed me and—
Blanket Fort 7F
My eyes shot open. It was just a dream. Just a dream.
I was still an Oshawott. I was still stuck here, stuck like this.
What was with that dream, though? It started off normal, but then my teammates were in my house back in Goldenrod…and there was a voice talking to me about…something.
Already I was having trouble remembering anything about it. I tried to focus on my dream, but the details wouldn't come.
…hopefully it really was just a dream, and not something like a vision of the future.
I opened my eyes further, stretched my arms and legs, and—
…why was everything so dark? Shouldn't Burhalla's flame keep things lit?
I gazed around, and felt my eyes widen in horror. I could barely see what was around me, but I could tell one thing.
My teammates were gone.
I was alone.
No. No no no no no!
Deep breaths. Deep breaths. They had to still be nearby, right?
Immediately, I clutched tightly onto my reunion cape, as I looked for the exit to the blanket fort. Something about clutching onto it made me feel less alone, and safer. It felt comforting. Hopefully Saltriv and Burhalla had just woken up early…they were probably just off eating breakfast.
Why were the walls so far away? And so tall, too…I knew I was really short now, but they couldn't have been this tall before, right?
I hesitated, then stood up, before walking over to one of the blanket walls. I tapped it, but it didn't move at all.
What's going on?! This wasn't how things were when I went to sleep! What happened?! Where were my teammates?!
"Burhalla? S-Saltriv?" I asked, glancing around. No response. Just me, the straw bed, and a bunch of blankets I could barely see in the dark.
"Please? P-please be there…please…"
I-I couldn't be all alone, right? Right? I could see my surroundings a bit better now. There were some patterns on these blankets that weren't on the ones we used. But there was no one else here. No one but myself.
No. No no no no no. Wh-What on earth even happened here? Where
were we? Were we even still in the house? Did the blanket fort somehow become a mystery dungeon? Did Saltriv and Burhalla abandon me? Did they decide I was just a burden?
Wooosh.
I felt a breeze sweep past me, and noticed a Shuppet in the corner of my eyesight. Was that a person? Or a dungeon Pokemon? Either way, I felt uneasy about it.
"Um, h-hi…" I said, gripping tightly onto my reunion cape. In response, a deep magenta aura surrounded the Shuppet, then the aura erupted from the ground around me.
The aura surrounded me—
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts!
So much
pain. It was like every centimeter of my body felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand knives! I whimpered, trembling as I tried to back away from the Shuppet.
W-Was this...what some moves could feel like? What did that Shuppet just do to me?! I looked back towards the Ghost-type and felt my blood run cold. The Shuppet was still there, worse, it was floating closer.
I screamed, running away from the Shuppet as fast as I could through the pain.
"PLEASE! M-MOM, DAD, N-NISA, SOMEONE, ANYONE! P-PLEASE!"
The Shuppet only grew closer. Everything hurt. It hurt so much. I was so, so scared. I just wanted to go home. To be anywhere but here.
I felt something soft press up against my back. I was up against the wall. I was cornered. I was going to die. I was going to die.
In the back of my mind, I noticed that I had instinctively pulled my scalchop off my chest, and was now holding it in my right paw. A pale green glow surrounded it.
The Shuppet Screeched, and I screamed. I turned around, and cut at the blankets in the wall as fast as I could. I needed to get out of here. I
needed to.
I ignored the sound of fabric ripping and tearing, continuing to hack away at the blankets. I managed to tear a hole in the blankets big enough for me, and before I even saw what laid beyond, I leapt through, away from the Shuppet.
As soon as I tumbled out through the tear in the fabric, the pain began fading, and I could focus again. Immediately, my eyes widened in surprise, and I yelped, as I realized that there was no ground beneath my feet.
I was falling through a rainbow void, just like the place that platform was on. The one I woke up on before I became an Oshawott.
There was no platform this time, though. All that was there was the abyss I was falling in, the colors racing past me as I plummeted. I probably ought to have been screaming, but somehow, I was too wrapped up with the colors of the void.
What was going to happen to me now? Was I going to be sent to a completely different world again? Was I going to go home? Would I just fall forever this time? Would—
Suddenly, I felt myself slow to a stop, leaving me floating in the void. I gripped tightly onto my reunion cape. Just what was going on?! This was almost as weird and scary as the platform itsel—
There was something in front of me.
It was…horrific. It was like the skeletons of an Aerodactyl and Kabutops merged together, with a cruel, ghostly grin, surrounded by garbled, flashing lines of light…
Wait…garbled, flashing lines of light…no, no it couldn't be! M-MissingNo was supposed to be an urban legend! There were just two major Johtonese legendaries, not some phantom third one like the cheap tabloids in the grocery store sometimes claimed! MissingNo wasn't real!
And yet here it was, in front of me.
And it was reaching for me.
I screamed, and tried to get away, but I could only flail in place, as it reached a tendril towards me.
"HELP!" I shouted into the void. But nobody came. MissingNo only screeched a garbled noise in response.
I clutched tighter onto my reunion cape. Was this it for me? Would I never see my family again, and be subjected to whatever fate Missingno wanted?
Wait, my reunion cape! "They can reunite you with someone, no matter the distance" Saltriv had told me. Could it get me out of here?
I didn't know if it had a connection…but I had to try. I had to. I had to. Or…
I tapped the bow of my reunion cape, hoping with all my heart that it had a connection.
In the blink of an eye, MissingNo and the rainbow void disappeared, and I felt myself hurtling through who-knows-what. I spotted a speck of orange—
SMACK!
===================================================================
Saltriv's Home
Sturece
I waited at the table, with breakfast ready for Saltriv and their friends. Arbstea was still sleeping, but even so, the table shouldn't have been
this empty. Saltriv should've woken up by now.
… Did a repeat of last time happen? That would explain why they're taking so long. I really hoped not, though. I didn't want to have to reprimand Saltriv only days after their return.
I should go check on them. I trotted over to the entrance of their room, and stuck my neck in.
"Saltriv? Are you awake?" I asked.
Everything seemed alright. There was no signs of a disturbance, but I couldn't see into the blanket fort. There was nothing but darkness inside—
I froze, as my mind turned to the stories of Mossy Town. After it had become a mystery dungeon, all that anyone had found of it from outside was an entrance that couldn't be seen through. My breaths started to come in and out in a panic. I could see the darkened entrance as clear as day, the blanket fort had become a mystery dungeon!
Oh, nonononono. No! Not Saltriv! Not after just getting them back after so long! And their friends! I couldn't see hide or scale of them! Did that mean they were also in…?
There was no time to waste, I reflexively made my way to the entrance of the Mystery Dungeon, only to catch myself at the entrance. It'd been so long since I went dungeoning… and I had no idea what on earth I'd find going into it on the other side.
I hesitated a moment. I really, really hated not going after Saltriv right then and there, but I knew enough about Mystery Dungeons to know that I couldn't do this alone. Plunging headfirst into an unexplored Mystery Dungeon wasn't a walk about Overcast Village, much less trying to do that with nothing but a satchel of pecha berries to help me while inside.
A-Acacia and Lidequir. They had done this sort of thing before. And they were both still nearby in town, I needed to get them over here immediately!
===================================================================
Blanket Fort, 4F
Saltriv
Keep calm. Calm down. Don't let myself panic.
The wisps around me dissipated, and I continued down the narrow corridor in the blankets. I felt my leaf brush up against a grey one as it swayed. Where on earth did all of these come from anyways? We couldn't have used more than a half-dozen blankets at most when building our fort, and somehow this Mystery Dungeon had created what must've been hundreds of them!
I don't want to use that move, ever again! And if I just stay calm, it won't happen!
I… I just need to not get overwhelmed.
Where were Burhalla and Gen? It's been at least an hour, and I've seen no sign of either of them at all.
They were probably alright. We're in a
blanket fort right now. How bad could it be as a Mystery Dungeon? We'd surely all find each other and get out of here soon!
I just need to keep moving, and never give up! No matter how scary or dark things get.
I missed the sunshine.
I walked into a room, and my left foreleg bumped into something in front of me. I looked down, trying to see what it was in the darkness.
Two rectangular objects… books? No, journals! My journal was there! I thought I had lost it forever after our fort became a mystery dungeon! And the journal I had gotten for Gen was right next to it!
I smiled as I placed the two journals into my bag. Once we're all out of here, I can show Gen his journal! I even got him one the same color as his chest fur!
I hope he likes it.
…I hope he's
safe.
===================================================================
Blanket Fort, 6F
Burhalla
I tensed up against a wall, as a Wooloo rushed at me with a Headbutt. I spat an Ember at a Wooloo, knocking it out just before it could reach me. A Stufful was next, and I barely dodged out of the way of its lunge. It collapsed onto the ground, defeated, and my heavy breathing began to return to normal.
Th-That was way too close.
Everything had just been battle after battle, since just after I woke up. I could hear myself pant and my breaths come out ragged. With how little time there was to recuperate between each fight, I was starting to feel exhausted. I must not have slept well either before waking up, since I felt like I was going to fall asleep at any moment. I could see my tail light flicker and dim, though I didn't need to look back to tell it was wavering, I could
feel it.
N-No! I couldn't just fall asleep here! I had to keep going, and get us out of here! Saltriv and Gen might be in danger right now! I had to keep myself awake, but…
how?
… Wait a minute, Drakloak gave us an insomniscope. I was pretty sure I never took it out of my bag. If it was still in there, I could use it.
I reached into my bag, and saw those Hoothoot-like goggles. I took them out, and stuck them over my eyes. I didn't have any horns yet to fasten the sides around like Drakloak could, but luckily this model of insomniscope came with sticky sides, allowing me to stick them to the sides of my head.
Already, as I went on that train of thought, I could feel my tiredness slipping away. Good. One problem taken care of…many more to go.
I peeked back inside my bag, and spotted two blue books that weren't there before, one labeled "Saltriv" and the other "Gen".
I smiled. Looks like Saltriv had gotten that journal for Gen...though I wish we could have given him it together.
No time to think about that, though. We were separated, and lost in a mystery dungeon.
At least the journals being in this bag meant that either Saltriv, Gen, or both were safe. But where were they—
SMACK!
I yelped as I felt something crash down onto me from above. I wobbled, then my head hit the thankfully soft ground with a thump. What was that?!
I stood back up and looked around, and looked up to see...Gen? He was trembling, breathing in and out rapidly, and clinging tightly onto his reunion cape.
Berry crackers, was he having a panic attack?
"Gen!" I called, leaning down and laying an arm on him. "Where were you? What happened to you?"
He didn't say anything, only whimpered and clutched onto my arm. What on earth had happened to him?! I couldn't remember ever seeing him this much of a nervous wreck since we met. Was he really that terrified of being alone?
Whatever happened, he clearly needed some comfort.
I put my arms around him and pulled him into a hug, slowly rubbing a hand against his back. That always worked well to help calm Valorch's anxiety, maybe it'd work here too.
"It's ok, it's ok. You're safe now," I said. "I'm here. You're not alone anymore."
Gen's breathing began to slow, and his trembling started to subside. "B-Burhalla…" He said weakly, before hugging me tightly.
"We'll get out of here. It's going to be ok," I said, moving my tail flame closer to him, trying to provide some comforting warmth. He leaned closer to it, whimpering, an anguished look on his face.
"I'm scared…I'm scared…it hurt so much…" he said.
My eyes narrowed.
What hurt so much? What did this to him?
"Gen…what happened to you?" I asked, loosening my grip on him.
"I-I think a S-Shuppet did something to me me. I r-ran into one, and there was a pink aura, a-and-" he answered. I could see a few tears run down his face. He looked really shaken.
"I-It really hurt, Burhalla! E-Everything on my body felt like it was getting stabbed!"
Berry crackers! He got Cursed?! No wonder he was such a wreck! Immediately, I dug into my bag and pawed through it. Something felt off about the contents though. I looked down into the bag and froze for a moment with a horrified gasp.
I-I never put any heal seeds in there before coming to Saltriv's!
H-How on earth did I-? Deep breaths. Deep breaths. We could still make this work. There were still oran berries in my bag, and there was a tiny reviver seed if things came to it.
I grabbed one of the orans, and thrust it at Gen. He hesitated a few moments before eating it. His trembling began to subside.
"Thanks, Burhalla," Gen said, before hugging me again, tightly.
Huh? What the-? How was Gen hugging me? He shouldn't have enough energy for that while Cursed.
… Was he lying to me?
No, he'd never do something like that. We're friends. He hasn't lied to me yet, and he was so scared after he'd hurt me. I trust him.
He must have healed the Curse on his own. Yeah, that was probably the explanation.
"Are you feeling better now?" I asked Gen, and he nodded.
"Alright! Let's find Saltriv, and get out of here!" I said, raising an arm into the air.
I smiled as I saw Gen do the same.
===================================================================
Blanket Fort 6F, Five Minutes Later
Gen
Me and Burhalla trudged down a corridor, side by side. I huddled close to him as we walked to the next room of this floor of the mystery dungeon. The patterns on the blankets were getting increasingly bizarre, I just saw one with splotches of orange and brown patterned with Bidoofs.
Burhalla was with me. I wasn't alone anymore. We were safe. I was safe.
What had even happened back there? Burhalla had told me this had become a mystery dungeon. This place, this place I thought was safe, had become just like Twig Woodland and Blistering Shore, and that terrified me.
Even so, that still didn't explain the rainbow void or Missingno.
It
was Missingno, I recognized the garbled lines of light and skeletal appearance from the covers of fantasy stories… Did… that mean the legends were really true? Were there really
three major Legendary Pokémon of Johto long ago? Lugia, Ho-oh, and Missingno?
I could worry about that later, once we were out of here. Once we were far away from any Shuppets.
There was something else that was bothering me, though.
"How are there Pokemon in here?" I asked, walking by a pink spotted blanket. "We're still in Saltriv's house, aren't we? So how could a bunch of Pokémon suddenly have gotten into this Mystery Dungeon?"
"...I don't have any idea. Nobody does," Burhalla answers, his tail flame flickering.
Wait, what?! Nobody knew?! Surely that couldn't be right. Mystery dungeons sounded like such a common thing here. Someone had to know how, right?
"Huh?! What do you mean?" I replied, glancing behind myself.
"Nobody knows exactly what dungeon Pokemon are. There's usually just the normal Hostiles and Dociles, but then there's stuff like that really aggressive Krokorok in Blistering Shore, and there was even one found a few months back that was like you and me, even if he couldn't talk, and he joined the team who found him!" Burhalla said. "He's an Oshawott, just like you, and they found him with a Treecko that was also like him. Almost as if the two were made to be partners with one another. I heard they're living in Moonlight Town now, helping Jolteon with dungeon research."
"How…" I trailed off. All of the Pokemon in these dungeons seemed like wild animals or particularly hostile wild Pokemon in my world, so if there was one that was sapient like Burhalla...
"Point being, there's no real pattern to them. They just...appear," Burhalla said, his fire dimming. "I wish I could tell you more."
I felt even more confused than before, but nonetheless, I said, "Thanks."
Maybe I should go talk to that other Oshawott. Maybe he could give me some advice on how to get by as one until I found a way home...and maybe I could get some answers about what happened to me, too.
Soon, we arrived in the room, only to come face-to-face with a Flaafy. I really hoped this was a docile. I didn't want to have to fight one, it'd be like fighting my mom's Flaafy. I don't think I could bear hurting it—
"AAAAAAAAH!"
Electricity surged through me, and I screamed. Not docile! Not docile!
Burhalla had a horrified expression on his face. He breathed an Ember at the Flaafy before running towards me. It cried out in pain, and I winced.
All I could see was my mom's Flaafy getting hurt.
I tried to tell myself that this wasn't them. This was just a wild Pokemon, not a Pokemon I've known for most of my life.
But the mental image wouldn't go away—
Pain surged through me, as it shocked me once again. Burhalla arrived at my side, but not before Scratching the Flaafy.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you attacking?" he asked me, a concerned look in his eyes.
"I…" I began, unsure how to explain it without giving myself away. Before I could give an answer, though, I screamed as I saw the Flaafy lunge at me, terror filling my body. No longer did I see my mother's Flaafy, there was just something bleating and sparking that was coming towards me far too fast.
I grasped at my scalchop, and frantically slashed at the Flaafy. Again and again and again, until I saw the Flaafy faint. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and tried to calm my nerves.
As I pulled my arm away, I saw that my scalchop was glowing the same pale green color as when I cut through the blankets. What was that? Did I pull off another move?
Burhalla walked over, and when he looked at my scalchop, he smiled. "Ah! That was Fury Cutter! Congrats on pulling it off!"
Wait,
Fury Cutter? But isn't Fury Cutter a bug-type move? But Oshawott are water-type Pokémon, since when did they learn Fury Cutter?
… I guess I knew a lot less about Oshawotts than I thought.
Though…if water-type moves needed calm to happen, what sort of emotion did bug-type moves need?
… Yeah, I'll wait until we're out of here to worry about that.
"The stairs!" Burhalla shouted, pointed towards a hole in the floor, where a set of stairs descended. "Come on, let's go!"
Before I headed over, I looked down at the Flaafy fainted on the ground. I felt a twinge of guilt, as I thought of the Flaafy I had known for most of my life.
… No, this wasn't the same Flaafy. This wasn't the one I knew.
I hurried over, and together, we proceeded to the next floor.
===================================================================
Blanket Fort 5F
Saltriv
I walked through the corridor, past the multicolored walls of blankets. It feels like it's been hours since I woke up in here. Was I even going the right way?
I had to run into Burhalla or Gen soon, right?
This was a nightmare…the blanket fort we built became a prison.
Nearly everything that happened recently was a nightmare. I went missing for months, and when I came back I was apparently able to use a shadow move!
Both Leon and Wilsa had gone missing in my absence, too…just how many more Pokemon were going to disappear into the shadows? I was worried about Wilsa especially. Leon was one of the strongest Pokemon I knew, but Treeckos like Wilsa weren't the toughest.
I hoped she'd be ok. I hoped everyone would be ok.
I really, really hoped things would get better soon… Pokemon going shadowy and mystery dungeons popping up more often, this had to be another crisis.
A human had to have come in reaction to all this, right?
As I entered the next room, my eyes widened, as I saw two Meganiums and a Wartortle talking.
"Mom!" I shouted, running towards her and Team Seedlings.
"SALTRIV!" mom yelled.
Before I knew it, I was wrapped in her vines. Acacia put a petal against my leaf as he sighed in relief, and Lidequir was smiling even brighter than during her jokes.
"You're alright, you're alright, thank Tapu Fini you're alright…" mom said, rubbing my back.
"You're not hurt, are ya?" Lidequir asked, laying a hand on my leaf.
"N-Nope, I didn't," I answered, my leaf beginning to lift back up. "I didn't run into any hostiles. I…I'm ok."
"I was so scared we wouldn't find you…" mom said, trembling.
Oh no, I really worried her… I tried my best to force a smile, to try to cheer her up.
"It's ok! I'm safe now!" I said with a wag of my tail.
"Let's get out o—" Acacia began, before catching himself. My uncle looked at me briefly before turning his attention off around our surroundings, frowning. Was… something the matter with me right now? I
thought I was fine, but…"
"Saltriv, do you know where Gen and Burhalla are?" he asked, giving me a concerned look.
Oh. Right.
"I…haven't seen them since I fell asleep," I answered, my leaf drooping.
Lidequir exchanged a worried glance with Acacia, and mom's petals tensed up.
"... We need to find them soon, they couldn't possibly have prepared well for this place," Acacia said, his antennae flattened against his head. "Stay close to us, Saltriv. We'll go look for them."
"Right! Lead the way!" I answered, trotting closer towards my mother, uncle, and his teammate.
Before I reached them, though, I heard the sound of something growling. I froze.
"Saltriv! Look out!" mom said, pulling me to the side, and my eyes widened in horror as I saw a Bewear charging at us!
Mom twitched her petals, and a Protect barrier wrapped around us all. The Bewear bonked into it, but the barrier shattered as it did so. Berry crackers, this was really bad! But mom, my uncle, and Lidequir could handle it, right?
"Stay behind me!" mom shouted, and I darted behind her. The Bewear roared, before smashing an arm into Acacia with a Hammer Arm. I heard him cry out in pain as something cracked.
"
U-Uncle Acacia!"
Acacia slumped over onto the ground, breathing hoarsely as he tried to right himself. No, no no no! Th-This couldn't be happening!
Mom gasped, and twitched her petals again. Reflect barriers surrounded us all, as Lidequir rushed towards the Bewear, his head glowing for a Skull Bash.
"I'll be fine! I've dealt with far worse!" Acacia said, reaching into his bag with a vine. The Bewear swung its arms directly at Acacia's neck—
NO!
I felt something surge from me, and watched as shadowy tendrils shot at the Bewear…as well as mom, Acacia, and Lidequir. Nononono! Not this move again! Not with my family! Not
now!
I heard several cries of pain, and both the Bewear and Lidequir were knocked to the ground. I saw patches of skin on both mom and Acacia turning a withered tan, and there were cracks in one of the plates of Lidequir's shell. The Bewear stood back up, fury in its eyes, before a Solar Beam from Acacia knocked it back down.
It was over…but I hurt them! I hurt my family!
I rushed out of the room, trembling. I heard mom calling my name, but I didn't care. I couldn't let them see me again, after seeing me use that move.
How could I ever face them again after doing that?
===================================================================
Blanket Fort 5F
Gen
As we entered the next room, Burhalla's eyes widened, and he ran over to something reddish on the floor. "Hey, come look at this! I've never seen a seed like this before!" he said, and I hurriedly waddled over.
It was an odd object, looking a bit like a gigantic sunflower seed, even bigger than the blast or totter seeds I've seen. Around it were three red protrusions... They looked very similar to the red clouds that had swirled around me when I stepped into the pillar of red light in Blistering Shore! Right when… I lost control of myself.
"What do you think it is?" I asked, cautiously tapping it with a foot.
"I dunno…but it's definitely a seed. And something about those red plumes look familiar," Burhalla said, picking it up and turning it over, before placing it in his bag. "I'll keep it in our bags. It might come in handy."
Suddenly, something green and red knocked into Burhalla. I yelped, before breathing a sigh of relief, recognizing them as my Chikorita roommate.
Saltriv's eyes widened, they took a step back, and they hesitated briefly. My ears twitched, and I wondered if something was wrong, but before I knew it, a smile found its way onto their face.
"Burhalla! Gen! You're both ok!" Saltriv exclaimed, sprouting four vines, wrapping them around me and Burhalla in a hug as their tail wagged. "You're ok!"
Burhalla chuckled, hugging Saltriv back, and I joined in. Now that we were all together, I felt so much safer.
Burhalla let go of Saltriv, and said, "Now we just need to get out of here—"
SHOOOOOOM!
My eyes widened, and I hurriedly looked around for the source of the strange noise, before spotting a beam of red light shooting from the ground into the air, just a short distance away.
Just like the one that made me Dynamax.
Burhalla put a hand on me, and another on Saltriv. A worried look was on his face, before turning fierce.
"Let's stay
far away from that," He said, with narrow eyes. I nodded. I didn't want a repeat of last time.
"Vee? Eev Eevee!"
I looked around again, spotting an Eevee emerging from one of the corridors in the room. I put an arm on my scalchop, getting ready for a fight.
"Voi?" it said, backing away from us, before looking around.
"Just a docile, no need to worry," Burhalla said. "Now, let's—"
"Eevee!" the Eevee cried, crouching like it was ready to pounce.
But it wasn't looking at me, Saltriv, or Burhalla.
It was looking directly at the red beam of light.
Before any of us could react, the Eevee took off running and dashed towards it.
"STOP!" Burhalla yelled, spitting an Ember at it, but it was undeterred. The Eevee entered the beam of light, and its fur began bristling as its ears rapidly twitched. Burhalla looked on in horror, and Saltriv put a vine on each of us, their leaf quivering.
I watched in horror as it grew bigger and bigger, and also…fluffier? As the Eevee grew in size, the mane around its neck enveloped its torso as well. It would be adorable if it wasn't towering over all of us and able to squish us by rolling over.
As it stopped growing, three red clouds appeared around the Eevee's left ear, nearly identical to the protrusions around the seed we found.
"VOI?" it said, looking down at itself, before touching its mane with a forepaw. Its eyes lit up, and a wide smile appeared on its face. "VEE! VEEVEVEVEVEVEVEE!"
Crap, it dynamaxed! Is it going to go berserk like…like I did?
I glanced over at my teammates, huddled up against each other. Burhalla's flame was wavering. "We need to get out of here!" he exclaimed.
That… would be easier said than done. There were only two exits to the room and the Eevee was blocking both of them. … We were trapped.
We needed to wait it out.
"VOI VOI VOI!" It exclaimed, and I felt the ground rumble. Cracks began to spread throughout the ground, spidering towards us and centering around—
"Saltriv! Move!" I shouted. Their eyes widened, and they leapt away, just before the ground erupted beneath where they were before, and a beam of energy shot up into the sky.
I didn't want to know what that would have done if it had hit Saltriv.
"What
was that move?!" Burhalla exclaimed. "It looked normal-type, but—Ack,
Gen! Watch out!"
I felt the air start to get colder, and looked up. I screamed as I saw several massive chunks of ice falling towards me.
I hurried out of the way of one, only for a shard of it to strike me, knocking me to the ground. Another was falling straight for me, and there was no way I could escape in time. I closed my eyes, trying to brace myself.
The ice crashed into me, and I screamed out in pain. Less pain than I was expecting, and I didn't feel anything break. Silver linings, I guess?
Pokemon are supposed to be pretty resilient, after all. I guess it made sense I wouldn't get hurt too badly by a move now that I'm one.
I looked up, and saw that there was only one red cloud left around the Eevee's ear now. They were almost all gone. It was almost over.
"VEEEE!" the Eevee exclaimed, as three stars fell from above, landing next to me, Saltriv, and Burhalla. They sparkled, and before any of us could scream, they exploded into energy, and I yelped as pain flowed through my body.
I don't think I'll ever see Galarian Pokemon battles in the same way after this ever again. I'm not sure if I'd
want to see one of them ever again.
The final cloud dissipated, and the Eevee yelped. It began to shrink, its body gradually returning to normal and the extra fluffiness of its mane disappearing.
Soon, there was just a regularly-sized Eevee, looking completely confused. It looked around, before yawning and lying down, closing its eyes.
As the Eevee fell asleep, I breathed a sigh of relief, before collapsing onto the ground. It was over. It was over.
I looked over at my teammates, also both lying on the ground, breathing heavily. They seemed shaken from the encounter, and so was I.
"That was terrifying…I thought we were done for!" Saltriv said, twitching their leaf.
"We made it, though," Burhalla said, before taking out three orans and an escape orb from his bag. "Let's heal and get out of here."
I nodded, standing up and waddling over to his side. I took one of the orans and ate it, savoring it. After everything that had happened, it tasted so delicious.
Burhalla ate one as well, and Saltriv grabbed the last one with a vine and ate it, too. We stood there for a while, before Burhalla raised the orb into the air. "Ready?" he asked.
"Wait, not yet!" Saltriv exclaimed, running up to us. "Mom and Team Seedlings are in here! They're looking for us!"
"Let's go look for them—" Burhalla began.
"SALTRIV!"
A large, green blur suddenly entered the room and rushed over to Saltriv. Burhalla and I jumped back as we watched a Meganium barrel in, snatching up Saltriv with a pair of vines and holding them with a wide-eyed stare down at them.
"There you are!" The Meganium said. "I was so worried after you ran off from us!"
Saltriv… ran
off from them? What on earth happened to them while we were separated?
Two more Pokemon entered the room, a Wartortle and another Meganium, both with scarves. "What's gotten into you? Why would you run off on your own in a Mystery Dungeon like that?" The Wartortle, Lidequir, asked.
"I…" Saltriv's smile disappeared, and their leaf quivered.
Acacia stepped closer to Saltriv, and said, "If it's about that move, nobody's mad—"
Their eyes were wide with terror, their leaf quivering. Burhalla's eyes widened.
What move? Was…was it the shadow move they used back in Blistering Shore?
"Please…not right now," Saltriv interrupted.
"...I understand," Saltriv's mom said, setting Saltriv back down on the ground. Burhalla laid a hand on their back, a concerned look on his face.
What had happened with them before we reunited?
Lidequir looked towards me and Burhalla, and smiled. "Hey, glad to see you two are alright as well!"
I tried to force a smile, and said, "Uh, thanks. How long were you, um, looking for us?"
"We can talk more once we're out of here," Acacia said, glancing at Burhalla. "Let's escape this dungeon."
Burhalla nodded. "Let's get out of here!"
He threw the escape orb at the ground, and it shattered. Pillars of light enveloped us all, as we escaped the blanket fort.